Pelvic Pain: “Is this important?”

February 1, 2019

Pelvic pain is a very important concern to address with your gynecological provider. For women, there are many different etiologies of pelvic pain that can range from infection to pregnancy complications. In instances where pelvic pain is severe and doesn’t alleviate with rest, it is advised to seek immediate emergent care at the Emergency Room or Urgent Care clinic to rule out a life-threatening emergency. There are two categories of pelvic pain: acute and chronic. Acute pelvic pain occurs quickly and abruptly whereas chronic pain is something that a woman has experienced previously and is either cyclic or noncyclic pain that lasts longer than six months. Both acute and chronic pelvic pain is important to evaluate with your medical provider. Oftentimes, your provider will want to rule out pregnancy, gynecological disease and non-gynecologic disease. This is typically done through a series of lab work, pelvic examination, and ultrasound imaging. Sometimes a surgery is warranted. A plan of care will be created based on the patient’s specific past and current medical history.